Il Cucinologo
EN

Puff Pastry Cake with Cream and Apples

17/11/2023

The puff pastry cake with cream and apples is a delicious dessert that combines the crispiness of puff pastry with the sweetness of pastry cream and the freshness of apples. Here is the recipe with an Italian touch:

Ingredients

  • 1 roll of rectangular puff pastry
  • 500 ml of milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 100 g of granulated sugar
  • 40 g of 00 flour
  • Lemon zest (untreated)
  • 1 vanilla pod (or a teaspoon of vanilla extract)
  • 3-4 apples (Golden or Renette variety)
  • Lemon juice
  • Powdered sugar (for decoration)

Preparation

  1. Start by preparing the pastry cream: in a saucepan, heat the milk with the lemon zest and the seeds from the vanilla pod. Bring almost to a boil and then turn off the heat.
  2. In a bowl, whisk the yolks with the sugar until you obtain a light and frothy mixture.
  3. Add the sifted flour to the egg mixture, continuing to stir to avoid lumps.
  4. Remove the lemon zest and vanilla pod from the milk and pour the hot milk in a thin stream over the egg and sugar mixture, stirring constantly.
  5. Transfer everything to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, continuing to stir, until the cream thickens.
  6. Once ready, transfer the cream to a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let it cool completely.
  7. Meanwhile, peel the apples, remove the cores, and slice them thinly. Place them in a bowl with a little lemon juice to prevent browning.
  8. Roll out the puff pastry on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Prick the base with a fork to prevent it from puffing up too much during baking.
  9. Spread the cold pastry cream over the puff pastry, leveling it well with a spatula.
  10. Arrange the apple slices on the cream in a harmonious way, creating a radial pattern or as you prefer.
  11. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 30-40 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden.
  12. Remove from the oven and let the puff pastry cake with cream and apples cool slightly before dusting it with powdered sugar.

Trivia

This cake is a variation of the classic apple cake, but the addition of cream and puff pastry makes it more sophisticated and suitable even for special occasions. Puff pastry was already highly appreciated in ancient Rome; however, the modern version as we know it today is the result of French culinary innovation.